8 Cool Outfits That Make Me Want to Try 2023's Controversial Denim Trend

Move over, skinny jeans—there's a new denim trend in town arriving to divide the internet. Enter flared jeans, the '70s-inspired silhouette that's taken over the runways and my heart and that's already being worn by celebrities in anticipation of spring 2023. Although it's still puffer-season weather in New York City, I'm starting to shuffle in my pair of floor-grazing denim I haven't touched in months. 

While relaxed-fit and wide-leg styles have been all the rage for the last few years thanks to the fashion crowd's love of slouchy tailoring, flared jeans are the controversial look no one saw coming. Even though it seems like skinny jeans are firmly tucked away at the top of my closet shelf, the latest ultra-flared-denim trend reminds me to never say never when it comes to certain comebacks. It's 2023—why not stir up a little bit of controversy with some hippie-inspired flares?

Scroll on to shop all of the flared-jeans outfit combinations living in my head rent-free. 

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Denim on Denim
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Flares + Layered Tops

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Flared Jeans + Aviator Jacket + Sneakers + Sunglasses
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Flared Jeans + White Boots + Trench Coat
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Embroidered Flares + Printed Jacket
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Flares + Sporty Jacket + Rimless Sunglasses
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Low-Rise Flares + Tube Top
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Colored Flared Jeans
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Next, The Shoes Fashion People Will Wear With the Anti-Skinny-Jeans Trend This Year

Assistant Shopping Editor
Ana Escalante is an award-winning journalist and Gen Z editor whose work ranges from dissecting size inclusivity at fashion week to discussing how American Girl Doll meme accounts are the the answer to society's collective spiral. She's covered it all: Queen Elizabeth II's corgis, Roe v. Wade frontline protests, and the emergence of jorts (or jean shorts for the uninitated). At Who What Wear, Ana is responsible for delivering smart, insightful, personality-driven shopping guides and trend features for a digital-first generation.

Before joining Who What Wear, Ana was Glamour magazine's editorial assistant, where she focused on daily news and special packages, including leading the brand's 2022 Met Gala coverage. For more than half a decade, she has covered style, beauty, and digital culture for publications such as Paper magazine, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue Japan, and Allure, among others. Ana has been called a rising star in media by publications such as Nylon and Teen Vogue. (Her mother, meanwhile, calls her "the coolest person" she knows.)